Exit Polls

July 12, 2010 | By John M. Glionna and Yuriko Nagano, Los Angeles Times

Newly minted Prime Minister Naoto Kan's beleaguered Democratic Party appeared to suffer a resounding defeat in Japan's parliamentary elections Sunday, a blow that threatened to further weaken Kan's already tenuous monthlong hold on power. The Democratic Party of Japan won fewer than 50 seats, well short of the 54 needed for the Democrats and their tiny coalition partner, the People's New Party, to keep their combined majority in parliament's upper house, according to exit polls conducted by Japan's public broadcaster and all major TV networks.

July 5, 2010 | By Tracy Wilkinson and Ken Ellingwood, Los Angeles Times

In elections marred by violence, intimidation and the growing influence of drug traffickers, Mexicans chose governors or other local officials in 14 states Sunday, a vote that appeared to be handing a sharp rebuke to President Felipe Calderon. Exit polls and a trickle of results showed the opposition Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, which dominated Mexico for 70 years until 2000, heading toward victory in many races. The strong showing is expected to bolster the PRI's campaign to retake the presidency when Calderon's term ends in two years.

"Iron Man 2" may have soared to the top of the box office this weekend, but "Babies" crawled to a respectable start as well. Focus Features opened its documentary with a title as self-explanatory as they come at 534 theaters, nowhere close to the record-breaking 4,380 for "Iron Man 2" but enough for a presence in most major cities and suburban markets. It sold a studio-estimated $1.6 million worth of tickets. On Friday night, most of the movie's money came from highbrow art-house theaters that typically play documentaries.

Britain looked set for a period of political uncertainty as voters appeared to usher in a stalemated Parliament, with the opposition Conservatives on track to capture the most seats in a volatile national election Thursday but not enough to form a majority government. Exit polls projected a harsh blow to the ruling Labor Party, whose dominance after 13 years of government has apparently come to an end. Voters denied the party of Prime Minister Gordon Brown an uncontestable and unprecedented fourth term, pushing it into second place.

Viktor Yanukovich, the former mechanic who just six years ago was shunned as a pro-Moscow stooge, declared victory in Ukraine's presidential election Sunday after early exit polls showed him leading by a slim margin. Three exit polls showed Yanukovich leading by 4 to 5 percentage points in a runoff election that threatens to deepen political instability in the contentious former Soviet state. His opponent, Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, refused to concede, and the numbers were being bitterly argued into the early hours Monday.

Viktor Yanukovich, the burly former mechanic ousted by popular revolt just five years ago, salvaged himself to claim top place among contenders for the Ukrainian presidency Sunday, exit polls indicated. His longtime rival, Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, will be a close second, the survey predicted. The exit poll results, if borne out by the slow counting of ballots, mean that the contentious pair will battle for the presidency in a runoff next month. The choice of a new leader marks a milestone in Ukraine's post-Soviet evolution, and many voters appeared disillusioned and hungry for change -- if wary of fresh rounds of infighting and scrapping for power among the Ukrainian elite.

Even before voters went to the polls this week, moderate congressional Democrats were anxious. Would the swing voters who coalesced around Barack Obama almost exactly one year ago stay with the Democrats or defect to the Republicans? The answer came Tuesday night as Republican gubernatorial candidates swept to power in New Jersey and Virginia, with the help of large packs of self-described independents. Exit polls circulating on the House floor Wednesday were even more unnerving to Democrats.

The weather at Razi Elementary School was depressing -- a driving winter rain mixed with occasional hail that soaked prospective voters as soon as they stepped out of their cars. Inside the school, local politicians fretted about the possibility of a record low turnout here in Israel's second-largest Arab city, and among Arab voters nationwide. On the streets, a protest against a right-wing Israeli politician serving as an election supervisor here briefly turned violent.